


Meanwhile... (An Ancient Rites Side-fic)

by calibratingentropy



Series: Ancient Rites [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Culture, Alien Gender/Sexuality, Alteans have questionable definitions of fun, Assumed rape, Keith has Three Parents, M/M, Multi, Quad-sexed Ovoviviparous Marsupial Galra, Side Story, Spoilers for Ancient Rites, Team Bonding, Unhealthy Galra Culture, Worried Overprotective Parent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:47:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23054959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calibratingentropy/pseuds/calibratingentropy
Summary: Brief moments during Keith's adventures when he isn't there to witness them. Explores how his friends and family are doing during certain events in The Rites of Courtship.Chapter 1 happens during Chapter 28: The Space MallChapter 2 will have big spoilers up through Chapter 30: The Mother
Relationships: Keith's Father/Krolia/Ulaz (Voltron), Keith/Thace (Voltron)
Series: Ancient Rites [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1656799
Comments: 10
Kudos: 41
Collections: Quad-sexed Ovoviviparous Marsupial Galra





	1. Meanwhile... In the Castle-ship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kumiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kumiko/gifts).



> This drabble was already included in the end-notes of Chapter 28 of The Rites of Courtship, but I'm not sure the next one will be short enough to fit in the end-notes, so I'm going to give these little side-snippets their own space to be.

The tower of movement tiles was wobbling dangerously, and Thace weighed the risk of having his marker sent back to the beginning of the circuit against the temptation of activating the massage function on the seat this turn, which was the reward for completing a full circuit. If he could pull a movement tile from the middle range of the tower, Thace was confident in being able to do it without upsetting the rest, and that would put him in a good position to be able to both pass Allura’s yellow territory and get the little massage on the next turn. 

The requests she asked for as payment for landing on her territory were harmless, but Thace understood now why Allura had eagerly snapped up the yellow tiles right at the beginning, even if it had slowed her first circuit considerably. It was the kind of strategy that only came from having played the game before. He was catching on now, though, and there was a green tile in a good position in the tower. Since he had the other two greens, Thace aimed for that one, and gently poked the tile with a claw-tip until the other end was far enough out from the rest to grab and pull. The tower tilted ominously for a tick but didn’t fall, so Thace ended up with the tile. 

Allura and Shiro clapped and offered congratulations on his steady hand respectively. Thace almost didn’t hear, as the question on the tile made something twist inside. “What was your favorite activity with your mother as a child?” 

How could he even answer that? Thace hadn’t had the fortune of knowing his brood-mother, and his few memories of his pouch-mother were so faint that all he really remembered was scent. The timer was ticking down on his opportunity to answer the question, but there wasn’t an alternative for not _having_ an answer, so far as Thace knew, so he braced himself for the shock. 

When it passed, and Thace’s fur fluffed out even more, both Shiro and Allura were looking at him with concern. Thace could only shrug. “I don’t remember either, not really. The closest I could offer would be the failed carrier assigned to teach my foundational studies singing lullabies to us instead of punishing the group for poor performance.” 

For a tick, there was no response, and then Allura got off her seat, tears shimmering in her eyes. Thace tensed, but all she had planned was a hug. The residual static shock made her yelp, but she didn’t let go, and Thace hugged back. He hadn’t really expected compassion, after her experiences, but receiving it was a sign to her character. 

Shiro joined in a moment later, getting a residual shock of his own. His expression was distant, and Thace suspected he had an idea of what the usual punishments were. The hug couldn’t last, and when the others pulled back, both of them had fluffy hair, sticking out from their heads. Thace laughed a little, and gestured at his mane in response to the looks. Allura started giggling first, and Shiro followed while they all ineffectually tried to smooth down their hair and fur. 

When the laughter died down, Shiro pulled up the rules. “It says here that if the other players agree, someone who fails to answer can still be given the tile. I think we can both agree. Now, my turn; I want that turquoise territory!” 

Thace moved his marker the number of spaces indicated on his new tile while Shiro reached for a turquoise colored tile near the bottom. The tower collapsed after a few wobbles when he’d gotten the tile out, and Shiro groaned. Allura clapped her hands in glee as Shiro set his marker on the first yellow space. “Your turn to wear something sparkly, Shiro!” 

Thace took a moment to smile and chuckle while Shiro picked through Allura’s jewelry box, and flicked his own weighed down ears when Shiro shot him a look. 

After Shiro had picked out a pair of rings and a necklace, Allura hummed thoughtfully and plopped her tiara on Shiro’s brow. “Perfect!” 

Shiro blushed, but his scent was happy and flattered. Thace felt his smile softening out of the gentle teasing he’d been going for and into simple contentment. “A pleasure, Prince Shiro.” 

Shiro rolled his eyes, but his scent was still happy. Meanwhile, Allura smelled determined, and stretched her fingers out before reaching for the automatically remade tower. “Watch the game mistress do it, boys!”


	2. Meanwhile... on the Thaldycon Base

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations to [Kumiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kumiko/pseuds/Kumiko) for the correct guess. Here's some of Ulaz's thoughts and feelings about the whole situation. He's having a mama bear moment.
> 
> If someone is reading this before encountering the main fic, be warned that this has a lot of spoilers up through Chapter 30 of the Rites of Courtship!

Assignment at the Thaldycon communications base wasn’t strictly a punishment, but it was a difficult assignment, isolating the operator from even the scent of others. Ulaz had expected worse when he’d informed Kolivan of abandoning his mission while disobeying orders so flagrantly. Emotional decisions rarely served undercover agents well, and even being sure it had been the _right_ decision (Ulaz _knew_ humans; even if Shiro himself wasn’t the Blue Lion’s chosen, someone among Shiro’s comrades would have the necessary qualities) didn’t negate the fact that it had been a decision inseparably tied to emotions. It hadn’t been a truly radical decision, however, as Kolivan had personally acknowledged the idea’s potential as a plan when Ulaz had first broached it, but only if sending Blades failed.

If nothing else, it was tacit admission that Kolivan still trusted Ulaz’s devotion to their cause and that he was actively seeking their ultimate goal. That this particular post forbade direct communication from the field and severely limited his outgoing communications wasn’t lost on Ulaz either. Kolivan the Galra might understand why Ulaz had done what he’d done, but Kolivan the Leader of the Blades of Marmora couldn’t condone it. So he’d been put in ‘time out’ as Kyle had once called it. 

Just that thought made a wave of longing sweep through Ulaz. He hadn’t had any word from his human partner in well over a decade, and oh how he missed Kyle, and their precious child. At least he and Krolia had been able to arrange a few meetings, if only to share the weight of their mutual grief and longing for their third, and their child. 

Dear, bright Keith. Their human genes would almost certainly encourage an early differentiation within a couple decaphoebs if not already, and Ulaz couldn’t be there to help soothe and educate like a mother should. His thoughts were lingering on Keith more and more often, and he’d been so very tempted to follow Shiro to the shuttle he’d programmed. The little brother Shiro had mentioned once probably wasn’t Ulaz’s child, but Kyle had intended to stay within reasonable distance of the Lion’s cavern. 

That had been utterly selfish and the second hardest choice Ulaz had ever made. Perhaps if the Lion had shown interest in him before, but— Ulaz was doing a vital service by recording and directing communications to keep their activities hidden, and to make sure knowledge got to where it was needed most. A _vital_ service!

And a poor distraction from the current emotions consuming him after hearing the talk spread like wildfire through the Empire. Even Warlord Ranveig had been intrigued enough by the news to take a cruiser to Central Command. The various reports had only made Ulaz ache with sympathy at first. A brooding switch working alongside Voltran and captured would be doomed to tortures that not even the most vile of Zarkon’s corrupt followers deserved. Being a hybrid made the worst even more likely, and none of the Blade’s agents could risk their cover to perform a rescue. 

The dull ache of sympathy had lasted for all of a quintant before being replaced with mounting fear. Ulaz had ransacked his database for every mention of the new Paladins, in desperate hope that his first thought on hearing the captured switch’s designation was wrong. Aside from Shiro, who’d been confirmed by one of Sendak’s transmissions as the pilot of Black, and one other (Blue’s Paladin), none of the others had confirmed species. Statistically, it was more likely that Red’s hybrid Paladin was part Altean than part human. After all, it would have made sense to at least put a skeleton crew in stasis with the Altean Princess. 

As a part of him had known from the first realization, Ulaz hadn’t been that lucky. He’d keened for vargas, until his syrinx throbbed with pain that didn’t match what was in his heart and beyond, when a communication from Commander Throk to Commander Ladnok had confirmed the Red Paladin’s other species as being the same as Shiro.

It was his _child_ suffering out there. Somehow his precious Keith (so young! wouldn’t have even differentiated yet if not for humans’ cursed short maturations) had been dragged into the war and put into such a terrible position. Not only was Keith a hybrid but _brooding_ ; it was a miracle they hadn’t been raped en route to central command. (Ulaz didn’t know they _hadn’t_ been.) 

Fury, grief, terror and guilt had driven Ulaz to plan after plan of rescue in those first vargas. Every one of them had been a certain failure at best. Just as quickly, the plans had become unnecessary. Keith had been rescued by Voltron (thank _everything_ ). Ulaz could have left it at that, secure in the knowledge that Shiro was a good, caring man, and that the Altean ship surely had the technology to take care of any physical reminders. 

He _should_ have. He hadn’t. Protecting his child had been impossible, but helping them heal in the future wouldn’t be. He’d needed to _know_. 

Now, looking at the timeline of events that he’d painstakingly put together after sifting through who even knew how many communications and records, Ulaz didn’t even know what to feel. 

Relief, even if it soured his stomach. Keith had been spared the worst. His child had been protected from the uncaring masses, and cared for. They’d been given a chance to at least limit things to a single partner that Ulaz _knew_ would have been gentle, respectful, and probably foolishly romantic about it. 

Horror. Sexual education periods existed after differentiation for many reasons, and carefully managed within the Blades to prevent precisely what the evidence indicated had happened. Bonds were wonderful things, but also a two-edged sword. Ulaz didn’t, _couldn’t_ regret his own bonds, but he’d also had a true choice in the matter and been fully aware of what he’d been getting into. Poor Kyle was so out of his depths where bonds were concerned; he couldn’t have given Keith a thorough explanation for all that he would have tried his hardest. So Keith had no choice, and little to no knowledge. It was sickening. 

But not so sickening as the rage and feeling of betrayal. Thace, _why_? He’d trusted Thace with more than his life, and there had to have been some other way. Any other way. Why had Thace maintained the charade so long? Why had he _risked_ —? Surely his intelligence and resourcefulness would have found another option. It felt like Thace had taken his blade and driven it into Ulaz’s back. At least Thace’s death spared Ulaz finding out the reasons. He couldn’t bear the thought of hearing about lust for his child, _his joey_ , from his Bro—from Thace. It spared him from having to kill Thace for what the fool had done, his probable good intentions at the start or not.

Worst of all, helplessness. Ulaz couldn’t leave the base to go find Keith, to help them recover and heal and manage the repercussions of a bond begun and violently ended so quickly. Oh, he wanted to. If he were being honest with himself, he’d abandon the base in a heartbeat if he knew where Voltron was, and had assurance that they would be staying there long enough for him to make the trip. 

Kolivan’s despairing admonishment about how overly emotional Ulaz was when it came to family was so very true—

The proximity alarm jerked Ulaz from maudlin thoughts. Even while activating the cloaking on autopilot, he couldn’t help but recognize the ship, from all the records and holos. That was Voltron! His childr—Keith and Shiro were on that ship. He’d have to sneak around the others just to be cautious but it was more than possible.

Ulaz activated his mask and strapped on a thruster pack for more speed on his way to the airlock. There was no time to lose.


End file.
